The Economics of Post-Harvest Handling and Marketingof Legumes in Ghana; The Case of Cowpea, Groundnuts and Bambara Beans

Abstract

The study examined the efficiency of the legume market with respect to post - harvest handling and the structure, conduct and performance of the marketing process. The legume crops involved in the study are cowpea, groundnuts and bambara beans. Bambara beans was however studied only at the farm level because of its limited sale at the wholesale level. The techniques employed for primary data collection include Rapid Reconnaissance Survey, Participatory Rural Appraisal, Direct Observation, and Case Studies. The data from secondary sources consisted of documented information from institutions. They include wholesale prices collected mainly from the PPMED of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Methods for the analysis of data include descriptive and inferencial statistics. Results obtained at the production level reveal that farmers have over the years developed many storage structures and protection methods as measures to protect legumes, namely, cowpea and threshed bambara beans, from destruction by insect pests during storage and to promote food security. The treatment of legumes on farms involve the use of traditional methods with limited application of chemicals. It was found that farmers store larger quantities of groundnuts and bambara beans in villages than cowpea, which is stored mainly in the markets by traders. The major marketing functions performed on legume markets by middlemen include purchasing, assembling, and distribution. Transporting, packaging, and storage were found to be important marketing services supporting the markerting functions. Other functions observed include direct and indirect financing through the provision of loans to farmers by traders and stock crediting among traders. Unlike bambara beans, cowpea and groundnuts were found to have a large number of intermediaries in the trade resulting in a multi-marketing channel. A situation, which contributes significantly to high marketing costs with consequent high consumer prices. Both farmers and traders were found to have limited or no access to market information on legumes prices and supply situations in the country. Insect pest damage on markets was found to be high for untreated stocks, ranging from 3.4 to more than 70 percent in some cases, thereby resulting in price discounts. The results revealed annual revenue losses to traders ranging from 11.7 — 58.4 percent of net revenue through price discounts for damaged grades of cowpea, caused by weevils. The results on pricing policies in the cowpea market give the indication of collusive pricing policies, with an imperfectly competitive marketing system resulting from traders’ monopoly of the market. The results also indicated weak associations between cowpea markets with only 9 out of 56 market pairs being highly associated, implying the existence of delayed transmission of price changes between cowpea markets. For the groundnuts market, the results indicate the presence of a higher market competition and a faster rate of price transmission between markets resulting in 22 highly associated market pairs The results of price spread estimations between farmers and wholesalers indicate that groundnut farmers enjoy a higher share of consumer prices than cowpea farmers. The study recommends that further study be made to identify simple, durable but affordable structures for introduction to farmers for legume storage. The use of underground storage facilities for instance may be additional options for study and consideration. The study also recommends an aggressive approach to insect pest eradication from farms and markets to forestall the incidence of seasonal produce damage and enhance the elimination of revenue losses to traders and farmers particularly in the cowpea market. It is recommended therefore that trial experiments be undertaken to select the most potent plant materials and their recommended dosage of application for reintroduction to farmers as well as the use of appropriate and affordable solar energy technologies for insect pests eradication. It is also recommended that the problem of farmers’ inability to adopt high-yielding varieties be tackled from the market and consumer levels in addition to the farm level. Extension services need to be introduced to markets to help in educating traders in operational practices and record-keeping as well as the formation of trader groups for linkage to credit institutions for financial assistance. Pest control and modem storage facilities need to be constructed in the wholesale markets for the proper handling and marketing of grains, cereals and legumes.